Colossal cleanup continues across the Maritimes after nasty nor'easter

Cleanup crews across the Maritimes were still busy clearing sidewalks and roadways Monday, after a nor'easter rolled through the region on the weekend.

The storm dumped about 25 centimetres of snow in Halifax, 26 centimetres in Saint John, N.B., and 40 centimetres in Moncton, N.B.

The snow came quickly, followed by rain, freezing rain and high winds in many areas.

In turn, that was followed by a quick drop in temperatures.

Helping a friend shovel a driveway in Dartmouth, N.S., Monday, John Lahey noted most sidewalks in the neighbourhood hadn't yet seen a plow.

"It feels like they might have forgot it. I know they work hard, but I see them going around before the storm happens, and they're driving up the sidewalk with nothing there," Lahey said.

The Halifax Regional Municipality says about 200 pieces of equipment, public and private, have been working around the clock, but conditions have been challenging.

"The temperatures overnight were not favourable for melting ice, and additionally, many sidewalks that were previously cleared were filled back in by street plows," said Public Affairs Advisor, Klara Needler.

Under the typical service standards, street and sidewalk-clearing occurs within 12 to 36 hours after the end of a snowfall, depending on the priority level.

Needler says, for this storm, more time will likely be needed.

The municipality owns approximately 44 pieces of street-clearing equipment, supplemented by contractors, which adds between 120 and 150 pieces of equipment.

In addition, the municipality owns 14 sidewalk and bike-lane clearing machines and the sidewalk fleet is supplemented by hourly contractors.

Walking his dog, Jasper, in the north end of Halifax, Harold Rennie described the sidewalk conditions as "dangerous but doable."

"I wish they could clear it better and faster, but I'm sure everybody says that in their own neighbourhood," said Rennie.

In an early afternoon news release, the city of Saint John declared a South/Central Peninsula parking ban for the second night in a row.

"While it is unusual for the city to declare back-to-back parking bans, we are grateful to the public for their cooperation as we can continue operations to widen streets for motorists and provide emergency vehicle access," reads the release, adding the ban will give the city more time to prepare for more snow later this week.

Street safety is top of mind for Halifax resident Opal Brinton, who was chipping ice from her driveway Monday.

"The thing I worry about when we drive is the snowbanks. It's hard to see when you go around the corners, right? I tell my husband, 'Just go slow, dear'," she said with a laugh.

Nova Scotia's Department of Public Works says it maintains 23,000 kilometres of roadway in the province, and it dispatched 400 snowplows and other equipment throughout the weekend.

"Our staff worked continually throughout the weekend," said department spokesperson Deborah Bayer via email, noting more information is available online, including plow updates, road conditions and highway webcams.